Goli Soda made a mark primarily because of its young protagonists. Watching a face-off between gangly teenagers and grown-ups was exhilarating. The jarring camera work only added to the film’s frenetic pace.
For his Goli Soda 2, Vijay Milton transposes the David versus Goliath theme of the original into the world of three adults. Oli, Maran and Shiva are your regular blokes from North Madras. They go on about their lives till one fine day they realise that their lives and dreams aren’t really theirs anymore. Even (and especially) in the 21st Century, they have overlords to answer to.
And it is this awakening that takes them to war. One fights for love, another for his identity. There’s the frenetic pace of Goli Soda, some fine acting by Samuthirakani as Natesan, and soaring background score by Achu.
Milton doles out his life lessons via Natesan. He talks at length about missed opportunities, and has only words of caution for his young friends. Gautham Menon, on the other hand, is all fiery. He urges the young men to take action, to question their place in society. He tells them, nay, screams at them (Menon’s raspy voice put to good use here) to leave behind their shackles and go head to head with the bad guys. These contrasts are a nice touch in an otherwise confused movie.
The actors, Bharath Seeni, Esakki Bharath and Vinoth, bring a youthful energy to the proceedings; offset by the staid quality of Samuthirakani’s Natesan. Achu is at his best in the Pondatti Nee song. It is hard not to smile widely as the song plays onscreen. Goli Soda 2 thus far is as lifelike as possible.
Recommended
But even that is not enough once Vijay Milton decides to take his inspiration for the second half from the oeuvre of directors like Hari and Perarasu. The normality that defines guys like Oli and Maran is what made them special. In the second half, however, they morph into typical Tamil cinema heroes. They bash up villains and get the girl. No sweat.
So, the audience is left with the feeling of having watched two aesthetically different films. One’s a story about underdogs. The other is a mass film.
Somewhere along the way, Milton lost his way. By the time the first Qualis flew over a speed breaker, the novelty was long gone. And therein lies the problem.
****
The Goli Soda 2 review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.